I haven't played games with the HD. The computer came with both an operating system installation/repair disk and a disk of drivers. It looks as though maybe I should update the BIOS, which I have never done. The HP site lists around 6 BIOS versions - I remain befuddled. BTW, mine is an AMD version, not Intel, but the "1720 error" hints on the HP site are the same.
Ah well. At least the 1720 message doesn't say "IMMINENT FAILURE WARNING", it just alerts that some of the parameters seem wrong.
I'll try a chat session with their support later.
Thanks for your interest and help. It has pointed me in the correct direction.
seacue